Where are the veteran linemen?

[Cadillac]

Experience on the lines is a must. With obvious exceptions for certain talented youngsters (like Taylor Thompson this year) it is unlikely that a successful team is going to put too many underclassmen on the lines. So where are our experienced linemen? Is this a failure in recruiting or what?

2004 Freshmen (would be redshirt Seniors).

Sean Lobo OL 6-3 285 Starting
Kyle Griffin DE 6-4 225 No longer on the Roster


2005 Freshmen (Would be Seniors or R/S Juniors).

David Allison OL 6-6 287 No longer on the Roster
Mitch Enright OL 6-1 282 Injured/Backup?
Patrick Handy OL 6-4 300 Starting on DL
Ross Nigh OL 6-5 265 Benchrider No playing time
Adrian Dizer DE 6-5 220 Starter at DE
Troy Theiren DE 6-3 240 J.C. Student, Long Gone
Adrian Haywood DT 6-3 295 J.C. Student, Long Gone
Brad Lankford DT 6-3 270 No longer on the Roster
Chase Smith DT 6-4 275 No longer on the Roster

2006 Freshmen (would be Juniors or R/S Sophomores).
Lee Gonzales OL 6-4 No Longer on the Roster
Jordan Johnson DE 6-4 Backup DE
Patrick Stodman DE 6-0 No Longer on the Roster
Zac Thomas DE 6-3 Backup DE
Kyle DeGroat DT 6-0 No Longer on the Roster
Mickey Dollens DT 6-4 Backup DL

So the upper 3 years of our recruiting efforts, where the bulk of our starters should come from has yielded: 4 Starters (If you count Enright). Four. Out of 9 starters on the line, less than 1/2 come from our the top. You could argue that bringing Chase in to OT pushes it up to 5 of 9, but that's still pretty pathetic. Next year we'll have a few RedShirt Sophomores moving into the starting roles, that would push this number up a bit. Additionally, perhaps some of these Sophomores who are backups can make the leap to starting?

Either way, I think it makes the need for JC help more clear than ever.

-CoS

[southerncomfort]

Sean Lobo OL 6-3 285 Starting
Kyle Griffin DE 6-4 225 Can no longer play due to medical hardships


2005 Freshmen (Would be Seniors or R/S Juniors).

David Allison OL 6-6 287 No longer on the Roster dont know who that is
Mitch Enright OL 6-1 282 Injured
Patrick Handy OL 6-4 300 Starting on DL
Ross Nigh OL 6-5 265 Can no longer play due to medical hardships/injuries
Adrian Dizer DE 6-5 220 Has not started since Navy. Injured.
Troy Theiren DE 6-3 240 LONG LONG Gone
Adrian Haywood DT 6-3 295 J.C. Graduated, didn't have any seasons left
Brad Lankford DT 6-3 270 Did not want to play football any more
Chase Smith DT 6-4 275 Can no longer play due to injuries to his shoulder

2006 Freshmen (would be Juniors or R/S Sophomores).
Lee Gonzales OL 6-4 No Transferred to Tarleton (I think)
Jordan Johnson DE 6-4 Backup DE
Patrick Stodman DE 6-0 Transferred to Texas State
Zac Thomas DE 6-3 Backup DE
Kyle DeGroat DT 6-0 Can no longer play football due to medical hardships
Mickey Dollens DT 6-4 Backup DL

So the upper 3 years of our recruiting efforts, where the bulk of our starters should come from has yielded: 4 Starters (If you count Enright). Four. Out of 9 starters on the line, less than 1/2 come from our the top. You could argue that bringing Chase in to OT pushes it up to 5 of 9, but that's still pretty pathetic. Next year we'll have a few RedShirt Sophomores moving into the starting roles, that would push this number up a bit. Additionally, perhaps some of these Sophomores who are backups can make the leap to starting?

[JasonB]

I think that you will find that on top of the above research, most of the linemen we recruited were not highly sought after in the first place.

So, yes, we have a long way to go on the lines.

[SoCal_Pony]

Excellent Point.

It would be great to know how many of those kids had legitimate offers.

I think Lobo, Griffin and Haywood did...others no so certain.

Allison as well.

[SMU21TCU10]

40 percent of all our classes should be lineman

[BUS]

OK you stole my rule.
40% linemen

This year we need 3 DT's and 2 DE's fro JUCO ranks.
Then move Yenga to LB and watch that guy MOP UP some folks.

With some o-linemen already signed and red shirted I think we are fine till next recruiting season.

BIG MEN - Join the herd of Big Mustangs.

[ozfan]

Excellent Point.

It would be great to know how many of those kids had legitimate offers.

I think Lobo, Griffin and Haywood did...others no so certain.

Allison as well.

SMU is in the catch 22 cycle - To recruit good winning players the team recruiting them must have a winning record or be perceived as a winner - This is not a perception at SMU so the big players are not top recruits and the better player are small - I feel for guys like Bell, Yenga, Sanders , Robinson and Willis because they do have some talent - I am also sure that some of the newer recruits
Beasley etc have talent but you need the big talented guys to win.

[Charleston Pony]

let's just hope we hold onto the early commitments this staff has from linemen...appears there are a few promising guys on the list

DL clearly remains the critical need.

It's no coincidence the DL was a strength of the last competitive team we had.

[JasonB]

Ask and you shall receive.

I went and evaluated the entire roster, and looked at their evaluations by three services, ESPN, Scout, and Rivals, in regards to offers and ranking.

I gave rankings from 1 to 3 in each category.
1 = ranking or offers projects to worse than c-usa average. This means that the recieved minimal offers, and had a rivals ranking for example less than 5.3. Projects as a bench player.
2 = ranking or offers projects to c-usa average. Had a solid 2 star rivals ranking. were offered by a handful of c-usa schools. Projects a a solid player.
3 = ranking or offers is better than c-usa average. Had a 3 star ranking. Offered by some BCS schools. Projects as a good starter.

What I found is that by position, we basically have the number of solid starters we deserve. For example, at WR, Burley was a 3 recruit (3 offers, 3 rivals, 3 ESPN, 3 scout). When you look at recruit ranking, we should have 1 player to excell, 4 solid players, and the rest should be poor. And if you look at the actual roster, we have 2 players that excell (Robinson and Sanders even though they projected to the bench), and 4 solids (Lufkin, Beasley, Wilkerson, and Haynes). So, a little off, but the projection numbers tend to match reality, even if the players don't match up in some cases.

Anyway, on the lines it is obvious we need help. And I think if you look at the projections of the recruiting class, we will be getting it. Here are all the players with projection

OL:
Chase 3
Lobo 1
Poynter 1
Enright 2
Nigh 1
Beachum 1
Boyd 1
Brooks 1
Chase 1
Czerniak 1
Emshoff 2
Free 2
Lebreus 3
McJunkin 1
Nwangu 1
Robiskie 1
Tennison 1
Turner 1

Now look at the OL recruits:
Atchison 3
Collins 2
Favreau 1
Fontana 3
Frazier 1
Hughes 2
Miller 2

And, on top of that, Farveau and Frazier have much better reviews than the ones we have had in the past, and you can say the same for the 2s. After this recruiting class, we will have 3 linemen that project to good starters in c-usa, and we will have 5 that project to solid, which is a much better situation than we have had for years.

[JasonB]

Now, for the defensive line.

Elizee 3
Handy 2
Parham 1
Dizer 1
Johnson 2
Sowe 1
Thomas 1
Yenga 1
Dollens 1
Ellison 2
Gremier 1
Thompson 3
Pittman 1
Huahulu 1
Flemming 1

For our recruits:
Frazier 2
Williams 2
Henderson 2

So, when you look at it, we had 2 solid cusa projected players before Jones. Now, with Thompson, Ellison, Frazier, Williams, Henderson we have added 1 good player and 4 solids.

So, basically, I am saying that overall, we have had very poor recruiting on both sides of the line. And we see the results today. JJ is certainly adding some help, so things will eventually improve. However, because you can't expect anything from these guys until their sophomore years, I think we will see some improvement next season, but the real burst forward will come the season after that. Unless we add some JUCOs .

[BUS]

We need 4 to 8 JUCO linemen NOW.

Then we can let the High School one go to class for a year, get bigger and stonger and learn from competitive players.

PLEEZ

[Billy Joe]

The title of this thread hits the nail on the head. This has been one of the biggest problems with SMU football and why the program has continued to pile up losing seasons. SMU has had horrible player retention and a non-existent junior and senior class to provide leadership and quality, experienced play. Hopefully, the players JJ recruits will stay on the team, continue to develop, and make big contributions when they are juniors and seniors.

[Cadillac]

Thanks for the effort no that Jason, that's a great couple of posts.

As BUS mentions though, the need for Jucos is pretty pronounced. I have no doubt that the kids that are coming in will be contributors, but relying on HS Freshmen to play the lines is a recipe for disaster.

-CoS